


Learn How To Fight

by Freckled_Goddess



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gang Violence, High School AU, Lots of Angst, Semi Slow Burn, Violence, clarke saves everyone, cliff hangers sometimes, street fighter lexa, they're both infatuated but too scared to make a move
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-06-26 06:14:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15657417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freckled_Goddess/pseuds/Freckled_Goddess
Summary: Lexa Woods is a street fighter, under the alias The Commander, with a reputation for winning at any cost.Clarke Griffin is a normal high school student, who's mother happens to have a lot of money, with a reputation for taking in others her age who need a roof over their heads.One day, their paths cross by chance and Clarke helps nurse Lexa back to full health. Clarke would like Lexa to exit the lifestyle she's been a part of, but it isn't as easy as it sounds. She already has a lot of enemies who want to get rid of her in more extreme ways.The ever-present threat looming over Lexa's head makes it harder for her to enjoy her life, but Clarke will do whatever it takes to help Lexa.





	1. The Long Day Is Over

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, my friend Tyler helped me develop the idea for the beginning of this story. I really enjoy the concept and enjoy writing this AU. I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I do. 
> 
> I apologize for any grammar/spelling errors, I wrote most of this in the ungodly hours of the day (11pm-5am), and i didn't really go through and check for a lot. If there are any noticeable or unreadable errors, let me know and I'll do my best to fix them.
> 
> Thanks for reading.

She could feel the weight of the envelope as it collided with her shoulder, she winced in pain due to the very large bruise already. The deliverer slammed the door as he left the bathroom. She leaned over and picked up the money that had fallen out from off the floor. She had one yet again. She was an excellent fighter and could even take down men three times her size. She had fought five people that night and had a large sum to show for it.

 

Lexa held twenty-five twenty dollar bills in her bloodied hands. She then realized the blood on herself and carefully put the money in her pocket.

 

She would rather get out of the building before her former opponents did, she had a reputation on getting cornered in parking lots and alleyways by former opponents and their respective teams. She quickly rinsed some of the blood from her hands and arms before attempting (with little results) to wipe her bloody face with a wet rag.

 

Once she’d done her best to clean up, she pulled on her hoodie slowly to cover her dirty clothing. She let out a quiet groan as her muscles ached. The pain wasn’t ideal, but she reward for winning was high, her body would heal. She smoothed back her hair and pulled her hood over her head, pulling it as low over her face as she could. She would use the back way to get home, but if someone did happen to spot her (especially a police officer), seeing how injured she was would not look good on her part.

 

She examined herself one last time in the dirty mirror before picking up her duffle bag and slinging it over her shoulders, sliding one are through each strap. She knew that the bag wasn’t made to be worn like a regular backpack but if helped her move quicker to wear it the way she did.

 

She quickly moved to the door and slipped out, glancing around the other side as she did so. Once she saw that the coast was clear, she moved quickly and silently out of a back exit, emerging into a thin, dank alleyway. Her nose wrinkled up at the sharp smell of rotten food and possibly dead animals (likely rats). Lexa looked from side to side determining which route she’d like to take to get home the quickest, and preferably the safest.

 

She was about to turn and walk the back way down the small space when she heard a woman scream loudly before it was cut short to a muffled cry. She startled and spun back around. There were two larger men holding onto a younger woman, maybe a bit older than Lexa herself. She shot towards the wall, pinning her side to it as if to attempt to phase through is altogether.

 

The girl was struggling and the men seemed to be laughing. The slightly taller one grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the side of the building. Lexa was already angry, but, as she breathed in, her lungs seemed to fill with rage, rather than air. Without thinking, she snuck forward. They didn’t seem to have seen her yet so she had an opening.

 

She was about ten feet away now, pressed against the wall opposite the three strangers. One man punched the woman in the face, Lexa lost it. She let out a war cry and launched herself at the men. She landed a fist on the one of the men's throats causing him to stumble back in surprise. She spun and her elbow collided with the other man’s throat. As he was busy fumbling and coughing, the first man grabbed Lexa’s arm. She let out and angry scream and whirled to him, grabbing him by the throat.

 

He wrapped both of her hands around her arm, but she managed to slam him into the wall. As she did so, the other attacker grabbed her by the hood and yanked her backwards, she coughed as the collar cut off her air flow. She groaned as her back collided with the wall, in her moment of weakness she could hear the girl crying. Again, she was breathing in rage rather than air.

 

She yelled once again and leapt up, wrapping an arm around one man’s neck and squeezed until her back made contact with the wall again. Two hands grabbed her by the shoulders and began to pull yet she was strong enough to hold her own. She lifted one of her hands and punched the temple of the man she was attached to. He immediately crumpled to the ground.

 

She steadied herself and turned to the one still standing. He looked angry, very angry. He charged with the obvious intentions of tackling Lexa. She sidestepped and knocked him to the ground. She brought her foot down with all the force she could manage onto his stomach. He yelled in pain and she kicked him again.

 

Once he looked like he was going to stay down, she stumbled over to the girl, crouching in front of her crumpled form.

 

“I’m sorry that took so long. You’re safe now.” Lexa whispered, slowly offering her hand. The girl took it and stood on shaking legs. “My name is Lexa.”

 

A long moment of silence passed between the two before the girl spoke, her voice hoarse and strained. “I’m Raven.”

 

“It’s good to meet you Raven, do you have a car or something nearby?” Lexa questioned, she looped her arm through Raven’s and helped balance the girl, who seemed to be limping significantly.

 

“Yeah, a block away.” She replied, dipping her head down. Lexa could tell Raven was trying to act strong in front of her on purpose, and she understood why. It was hard to show any signs of weakness for Lexa and she could tell this girl must be used to endearing.

“I’ll take you there.” Lexa stated, wrapping her arm around the other girls waist to help support her more. Raven let out a sign and leaned on her more, Lexa pretended like she didnt notice. They made it onto the sidewalk and Lexa let Raven lead and she simple helped her stay upright.

They walked together in silence for ten minutes (it wouldn’t have taken so long but they were both significantly injured, so the walking was slow) and once Raven fully stopped and reached down inside her own pocket, Lexa figured they’d reached their destination. She stood patiently, keeping her arm around the other girl to keep her up. Raven finally pulled out her key and unlocked the car. Lexa moved a bit faster and managed to open the door for her.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Lexa asked as she helped Raven into the ‘seat. Once she was inside, she reached over and pulled out an inhaler. She uncapped it, put it to her lips, and took a long breath. She finally exhaled and returned the inhaler to its original position.

 

“I’ve driven in worse condition. Trust me, I’ll be okay from here.” Raven said closing her door, but rolling down the window. Lexa leaned over, bracing her arms on the bottom of the open window.

 

“Do you live by yourself or with others?” She didn’t want to sound creepy, but she was concerned for Raven. Raven nodded and sighed, facing forward. She gripped the steering wheel with both hands as she exhaled.

 

“I live with a couple other people. I trust them all. Don’t worry about me anymore, I’ll be okay.” Raven said, looking back up and Lexa, who nodded slowly. Raven turned back around again and put the key in the ignition, turning the key , and firing up the engine.

 

“Okay, I don’t mean to sound assertive or anything of the sort. I’d just like to know that you make it home safely. My apologies, but please to take very good care of yourself.” Lexa said, taking a step back, straightening up. Raven leaned out the window.

 

“Hey, thanks Lexa. I owe you one, if we ever see each other again.” She smiled crookedly and returned her hands to the steering wheel. “Thank you.” Raven repeated.

 

“Don’t thank me.” With that, Raven nodded and rolled up her window. Lexa moved further away to give her room to back out. As Raven did so, Lexa watched to make sure she at least made it up the street okay. Once the car rounded the corner, Lexa looked around and shoved her hands in her pockets.

 

She walked with hunched shoulders back up onto the sidewalk, her head pounding as she looked from left to right. The streets were mostly empty this late at night. Lexa pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was almost three in the morning.

 

As Lexa returned her phone ot her pocket, she remembered her duffle bag was laying in that alley still. She quietly cursed herself and started back in the direction she’d come from. It only took her four minutes to get back by herself.

 

She saw that one man was still knocked out on the ground and the other was nowhere to be found. She chuckled quietly as she stepped over the body. She picked up her back and slung it back onto her shoulders, an arm in each strap. Once her bag was secure she turned back towards the street.

 

Her heart jumped into her throat before she could even take a step. One of the men from before had returned, and he brought backup. She froze and counted. Six. She almost found it funny that he thought he’d need six other men to take her down. He was right though.

 

“Hey! That’s the bitch!” The man yelled, pointing to her causing all his friends to look at her.

 

“Oh, great.” She rolled her eyes. This was such an inconvenience.

 

Before any of the men could move, she spun on her heel and ran full speed towards the other end of the alley. She heard loud footsteps behind her a moment after she took off. She emerged on a dark back road and pivoted to the right without any hesitation. She only sped up the louder the feet behind her sounded.

 

 _Like a stampede, a stampede of absolute fools,_ Lexa thought to herself. She made a few more turns and ended up on a familiar street, one more block and she could hide somewhere in the nearby suburban neighborhood near the edge of the more urban area. She made a sharp turn, squeezing between to parallel parked cars. She took off down the middle of the road. _Man these idiots are great at keeping up._

 

She was beginning to lose her breathe without being able to fully catch it again. She couldn’t outrun them for very much longer. Luckily she reached the end of the streat and the buildings began to thin out until she reached the fence of the gated community.

 

She leapt up, grabbing the top of the metal fence. The bars were vertical so she pushed her feet into and used her arms for the most part to hoist herself up. Once her waist leveled out with the top of the fence and her arms were straight, she didn’t bother to keep from getting bruised (it was too late for that). She swung her legs up and launched herself over the fence, landing with a thud and a groan.

She quickly gathered herself and stood, taking off once again. She ran through several backyards, jumping several, slightly lower fences. She could still hear her pursuers but the fences seemed to have slowed them down a lot. She reached a particularly higher fence and decided this would be it.

She moved to her left, toward the back of the house, she turned the corner of the fence and searched for the gate. She let out a sigh of relief when her hand bumped into a gate lock system. She didn’t have time to pick a lock. Instead, she placed her foot on the bottom of a nearby window and jumped toward the fence, stretching her arms above her head to grab onto the top of the picket fence.

 

She bit down hard on her lower lip to keep from crying out as the peaks of the individual boards of wood cut into her palms. Her feet scrambled for a purchase and once again she used predominantly her arm to pull herself up and them launch herself into the grass below.

 

She hit the ground hard, landing on her side. She quietly ground and rolled onto her back, her bag awkwardly shoved to the side of her body. She laid for a minute, caughting back her breath and she closed her eyes. She just wanted to go home and sleep in her own bed and not be covered in blood and running from a bunch of angry men.

 

Hearing several pairs of feet slamming into the ground snapped her out of her haze. She rolled over onto her hands and knees and looked around. There was the house itself that she could go into, but then she might get arrested. She looked more and saw a sizable pool, a hot tub, a dog house, and a smaller building to the back of the huge yard. She would call it a shed, but it was nearly the size of her own actual house.

 

She got up quickly and ran over to it, finding the door quickly. She held her breath as she gripped the handle and slowly turned it, pushing on the wood with her shoulder. She let out a heavy breath when the door popped open. She reminded herself to thank whatever god there was (or wasn’t) for careless rich people.

 

She quickly went inside and slowly slid the door all the way shut behind herself. The air inside was hot and stuffy from the end-of-summer heat and it was pitch dark, but she was just thankful to have somewhere to hide. As a second thought, she turned around and locked the door behind her.

 

She decided it would best to not just stand right in front of the door. She stretched her arms out in front of her as she moved forward to keep from running into anything and knocking anything over. She found a wall and followed it, sliding her hand along it for navigation. Her hand fell forward suddenly and she realised it was a corner. She turned with the wall and her foot bumped into something solid yet squishy.

 

She kneeled down and set her hands on it. It felt like a pile of deflated pool floaties.She shrugged and took off her duffle bag, laying it on the pile. She intended to only sit, but she ended up laying down. She silently swore she wouldn’t fall asleep, but she never was good at keeping promises with herself.

 

* * *

 

 

Clarke awoke due to, what sounded like, Octavia slamming pots together repeatedly in the kitchen. The blonde groaned and literally rolled out of her bed, just barely landing on her feet, and she stumbled towards her bedroom door. Her eyes being still blurry from sleep caused her to nearly fall headfirst down the stairs. She reached her kitchen to find Octavia very obviously struggling with four pots in her two hands.

The brunette was shorter than average but had a well-known reputation of trying to take down challenges much larger than herself, both mediocre and significant tasks. She appeared to be trying to make a large breakfast but the problem seemed to lie with how many things she she was trying to do with just her two hands.

 

“Need any help, O?” Clarke asked, her voice croaking, she cleared her throat. Octavia startled at the sound of it and dropped a pan on her foot as she let out a short shriek. She turned and grinned sheepishly.

 

“I was going to surprise you. It was going to be a sort of thank you for taking Bell and me and Raven in and letting us stay for so long.” The brunette set the utensils in her arms onto the center island. “I also thought I heard stuff outside at like five in the morning and then couldn’t fall back asleep.”

 

“I know you guys are thankful, you don’t need to do anything for me. And it’s mostly my mom and Marcus that took you in.” Octavia scoffed and rolled her eyes. As their conversation continued, Clarke set about helping Octavia.

 

“Oh please, Griff. This my be _Abby’s house_ , but she’s not even here ninety percent of the time. You took us in, you saved us, you take care of us. This is _your home_ .” Octavia said, the seriousness of her words slightly discredited due to the fact that she was putting on an apron that read: _Gordon Ramsey is my bitch_.

 

They continued on for nearly an hour and in that time Bellamy and Raven had joined them and donned ridiculous aprons of their own. Clarke immediately noticed how tense Raven had been, and the bruises on her arms and facial areas didn’t go unnoticed. She decided not to ask until the two of them were alone.

 

The four friends fixed a large breakfast, it included just about every way you can cook an egg, sausages, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, fruits, muffins, and at least five different fruit juices. They all helped each other carry in the feast on serving plates out to the dining room tables.

 

That room always made Clarke think about how unnecessary twelve seats were. She hadn’t eaten at it with her mother since her father had passed away. There had never been a need for all those chairs after that, not until her friends had come along.

 

“Clarke,” Bellamy called, bumping his elbow into the blonde’s, “Where are those old candle holders? The ones with the weird legs on them.”  He asked, over-gesturing as he spoke.

 

“Uhm, I think my mom put them out in the pool house after New Years, with the rest of the holiday stuff. I’ll go get them.” She responded, setting down the plates in her hands. Bellamy nodded and went back to the kitchen.

 

Clarke made her way to the back door and out into the large back yard. She walked in a half circle around the pool, when she reached the door of the pool house, she tried to turn the handle but it was locked. She rolled her eyes and grumbled to herself as she reached up to the top of the doorway for the key. Once she found it and unlocked the door, she returned the key to it hiding place.

 

She gently pushed the door open and stepped in without making a sound. She was always hesitant entering this building alone, she had an irrational fear that she would one day find a dead body lying on the floor.

 

Clarke stepped further inside and slid the door shut behind her by leaning into it. She glanced around, the sunlight provided some way of seeing but it felt slightly ominous. She took a deep breath and slowly stepped forward, looking around and reading the labels on each storage box.

 

She quickly reached the corner and turned down what was built as a hall, that’s when her eyes landed on it, the candle holders where on top of a stack of boxes. She moved forward, keeping her gaze up, she had a huge grin on her face.

 

That grin quickly fell as her feet bumped something that wasn't supposed to be there. She felt herself falling before she had time to catch herself and she landed on something hard, yet less solid than the floor. She groaned and rolled onto her back but froze when she heard a groan of pain that didn’t come from her own mouth.

 

Once the shock faded slightly, she flailed around trying to get back to her feet, causing her arms to collide with whoever was in her pool house several more times.

 

“Ouch, watch it.” The person said monotonously. Clarke finally managed to scramble away and get back on her feet. She spun on the stranger, fear and anger taking full control.

 

“Who are you? Why are you in here? What do you-” Clarke cut herself short as she finally fully looked at the girl on the floor. She was covered in dry blood and looked as if she didn’t even have the energy to defend herself. “Holy shit, what happened to you?”

 

When the bloodied girl on the floor only stared at her, as if waiting for something, Clarke tsked and stepped closer again. She leaned down and offered a hand to the brunette girl. She hesitantly placed her hand in Clarke’s; the blonde stood and used both hands to pull the injured stranger to her feet. It looked like it her her just to stand still. Clarke decided she would help her walk.

 

“I need to bring these candle sticks inside, then I’ll take you upstairs and get you cleaned up.” Clarke said in the most soothing voice she could manage, or what she hoped was soothing. The girl gave one short nod and leaned against the wall while Clarke stood on the tips of her toes to get the candle holders. When she turned back around, she noticed her new friend trying to bend down to pick up a large duffle bag.

 

“Hey, woah! I’ll get that.” Clarke insisted, scooping up the bag and slinging it over her own shoulder. She adjusted her grip on one of the candle holder and put the other in the same arm, cradling the set. After she thought she could carry everything without dropping anything, she moved back to the stranger and slid her arm around her waist, waiting for her to place her own arm around her shoulders. The girl shifted her weight and Clarke stumbled slightly, thrown off balance, before she was able to fully support the brunette.

 

The slowly made their way out of the pool house, through the yard, and into the house hobbling all the way. Clarke slid open the glass doors into the living room of her house, she set the duffle bag down and led the stranger to the sectional couch. When she tried to help her sit, she groaned and just laid on the floor, settling in a starfish-like position. Clarke watched in confusion but ended up simply shrugging.

 

She walked back into the dining room and lifted her hand, silencing her friends before they even had a chance to question her. They all looked at in utter confusion, Raven silently pointed at Clarke’s clothes. Clarke looked down, pulling at the hem of her shirt, disappointed to find a small amount of blood smeared across her chest.

 

“Okay, it’s a long story and I don’t fully understand myself, but I’ll explain more when i get it sorted. Go ahead and eat, we’ll join you soon.” Clarke turned on her heel and went back to the living room.

 

She re-entered the room to find her current patient on her hands and knees, coughing violently. She immediately went to the girls side and helped her get upright. She leaned back, throwing her head back and groaned in such a way that almost made Clarke feel her pain as well.

 

“Come on, I’m gonna clean and patch you up.” She hooked her arm around the other girls and used most of her strength to lift her, she didn’t seem to be trying to stay upright at all. She managed to get her out into the hall without her falling.

 

“Woah, the hell?” She heard Bellamy call out and a moment later her load was slightly lighter. She turned around to see Bellamy had picked up the girl bridal style. She took the opportunity to run back into the living room to retrieve the duffle bag and the candle holders on top. She quickly dropped the candle holders back into the dining room, glancing at the two girls still seated. Octavia looked all sorts of confused but Raven looked like she had seen a ghost.

 

She didn’t have time to ask questions, Clarke ran back to the hall to see Bellamy already going up the stairs. She caught up and followed closely behind the older boy. He already knew what Clarke had in mind and made his way towards her room. Once beyond her door, Bellamy set the girl into one of Clarke’s chairs and turned back to the blonde.

 

“Thank you, Bell. I’ve got it from here.” He nodded stiffly, probably not so eager to leave Clarke with a bloodied stranger. He went back towards the door to exit her room and Clarke followed. She placed a hand on his shoulder and stepped closer to him.

 

“She won’t hurt me, look at her. I also don’t want to overcrowd her. I’ll be down before too long.” She whispered, he nodded more willingingly now before he exited, silently closing the door behind himself.

 

Clarke went back to the girl and slowly helped her walk into her joined bathroom. She helped her sit on the closed toilet and began to fill the bathtub. She turned back to the girl and looked her over for the millionth time.

 

“This may sound a bit forward, but I’m going to have to ask you to take your shirt off.” She slowly turned her head and stared at Clarke blankly, her eyes devoid of emotion. “Or, I could help you. Please just don’t hit me or anything?”

 

She slid down onto her knees and took the hem of the tattered shirt in her hands. She hardly moved them before the girl flinched, causing Clarke’s movements to halt. She held the brunettes gaze for a moment, trying to think of a way she could soothe the girl who was probably secretly terrified.

 

“I just want to help you.” She continued to hold eye-contact. Her head was beginning to pound but then an idea came to her, it was probably a stretch. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She wasn’t one to do things like she was about to do in front of people. She sat back on her heels and opened her eyes again.

Sliding her hands wider along the hem, she began to hum softly, it was a small hope that this random stranger would somehow be comforted by a lullaby Clarke’s mother would sing to her throughout her childhood when she would wake up screaming from some nightmare or another.

 

“Feeling tired,” She sang so softly, she was almost purring as she slowly lifted the hem of the brunettes shirt. “By the fire, the long day is over.” She was able to remove her shirt slowly, being careful to not hurt her further.

 

She helped the injured girl to remove the rest of her clothing, making sure not to look anywhere the other girl would be uncomfortable with her looking. With Clarke’s help, she was able to move into the quickly filling bathtub, the warm water relaxing her muscles.

 

“The wind is gone,” Clarke crooned. She made sure she was as submerged as she possibly could have been before shutting the spigot off. “Asleep at dawn.” She didn’t know what else to do than to continue to sing. She watched closely as the girls eyes fluttered shut and she tilted her head back into the water.

 

Clarke reached for a washcloth on the edge of the tub, but suddenly realised how hard it would be to wash the girl from outside of the jacuzzi sized tub. She looked down at her clothes and then back at the girl basically sleeping in the tub (she seemed to wounded to care that she was completely naked in front of a complete stranger). Clarke stepped back for a moment and took off her shorts, leaving her old tee shirt on. She then climbed carefully into the tub with the girl and sunk down to be on her level.

 

She resumed humming as she retrieved the washcloth and soaked it in water. She rose slightly, sliding her left hand around and behind the girls head, holding her face above the water as she used her right and and began gently running it over her bloodied skin. “The embers burn on.”

 

After about ten minutes of gently wiping the brunettes face, she seemed to have gotten it as well cleaned as she could without reopening wounds. She quickly wiped down the few cuts on the rest of her body, being careful not to out her hands anywhere they shouldn’t be. Since Clarke had started softly singing to this girl, her breathing seemed to have evened out quite a bit, to Clarke’s relief.

 

“With no reprise,” She reached for her own shampoo, a strawberry scented one, and squeezed a bit into the palm of her hand. She stood a bit more and leaned over the girl, running her soaped up hands through her wet hair. Luckily, the brunette seemed to understand ad lifted her head up a bit so more of her hair was out of the water. Once Clarke was able to get her fingers through the initial crustiness of the dried blood near her face, she was able to gently massage the shampoo into her scalp. “The sun will rise.”

 

Once she finished shampooing her hair, she gently guided her to tilt her head back again to reemerge her long hair in the water. She slowly washed the soap out, noticing how much softer her hair felt already. “The long day is over.”

 

Clarke climbed out of the tub, onto the bathmat, she removed her dripping shirt and retrieved too towels out of the closet. She wrapped one around her torso and placed the fluffier on the closed lid of the toilet.

 

“You’re welcome to use any soap you want, there’s unused toothbrushes in the closet right there and pretty much anything else you’d need. You’re welcome to also stay and just soak for a bit longer, but I don’t recommend staying in for too long, it isn’t good for healing wounds. I’ll be on the other side of this door when you’re done and I’ll have some clothes for you to put on.” Clarke wasn’t sure if she had even been listening, but it didn’t really make a difference, she’d be back in to check on her in five minutes.


	2. Fathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa get to know each other a little bit better and reveal parts of their pasts to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy :)

Lexa emerged from the tub only moments after the other girl had exited, she didn’t want to bother the blonde more than she already had. She would get her clothes and her bag and leave without more than a few words of gratitude.

Or so she thought.

 

Before she could fully gather her things, there was a soft knock on the door. She grunted in displeasure, wrapping the towel around herself tighter before opening the door. Her savior’s eyes widened in surprise and she took a small step backwards in alarm.

 

“Oh, shit, sorry.” Lexa mumbled, averting her eyes to the floor. She felt suddenly very vulnerable, judged. The blonde shock melted into a soft smile and she hesitantly reached forward to place a comforting hand on Lexa’s shoulder.

 

“Don’t be. Are you feeling alright?” She rubbed her thumb mindlessly on the surface of Lexa’s still wet shoulder, causing Lexa’s neck to grow warm. “Let’s get you into some clean clothes and then we can go down stairs and get you fed.”

 

Lexa opened her mouth to object but her words caught on the dry rawness of her throat as she was already being led across the room. The blonde girl stopped next to the large bed and ordered Lexa to stay put. She opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a plain white t-shirt before holding it up to Lexa. She nodded and smile vibrantly again.

 

“I can help you dress if you need me to.” She offered, but Lexa shook her head. She already owed this girl too much. She took the shirt and began to lift it to pull over her head stopping suddenly as pain shot through her arms and back. A small whimper slipped past her chapped lips and she mentally scolded herself for it. “Okay, I’ll help. Don’t over do it, darling.”

 

The term of endearment didn’t go unnoticed by Lexa, she probably called everyone darling to comfort them. She took the shirt gingerly from Lexa’s shaking hands, smiling gently once again. She instructed Lexa to slip her arms in, then she stretched the cotton fabric up and over Lexa’s head, the brunette closing her eyes. It fit her pretty well and now that she was covered by something, she let the towel fall the the floor.

She opened her eyes to see how close the other girl was, simply looking at her with twinkling eyes. The lump in Lexa’s throat seemed to swell as her whole body got about ten degrees warmer. She felt such a strong pull towards the blonde within her heart, but her head was telling her to get out as soon as the opportunity arose.

“My name is Clarke, by the way.” She spoke, the thin air crackling around the pair. Lexa paused, letting the name settle in her mind. It was strange but so fitting.

 

“Clarke.” She echoed quietly, her voice straining. Clarke’s cheeks darkened and her pupils dilated after Lexa spoke. She had heard name spoken so many times but never before had it sounded so smooth, so exquisite. “Uh, Lexa. My name is Lexa.” She cleared her throat and winced at the burning sensation. The moment was suddenly broken as Clarke grinned, nodded and turned back towards the dresser.

 

She mumbled to herself about pants and shorts before digging deep into a drawer and withdrawing a pair of gray sweatpants. Clarke held the pants up and examined them before looking past them and raking her eyes over Lexa’s slightly exposed figure. She then nodded and stepped back up close to Lexa.

 

“I know these clothes probably don’t fit you quite right, we have different figures, but they’ll do for now.” Clarke kneeled down and scooted closer to Lexa as the brunette felt her nerves spark at the vulnerable position they were now in. The blonde didn’t seem to notice.

 

She let Lexa step through each foot hole before pulling the waistband up to Lexa’s hips, her fingertips brushing against her legs gently the entire way up. The contact sent a wildfire to spread up Lexa’s spine.

 

“I hope you don’t mind going commando so much. I know my underwear probably wouldn’t fit you too comfortably.” Clarke said as Lexa offered a hand to help her stand. Clarke took the offered hand and beamed with gratitude as Lexa easily assisted her.

 

“Hungry?” the blonde questioned.

  


* * *

  


The duo descended the staircase and entered the dining room to see Clarke’s three charges, and friends, chatting away as they continued to chow down. As they entered, they fell silent and Raven’s eyes grew as her skin pailed.

 

“Wow, guys. Did you really have to eat so much?” Clarke scolded, sounding like a mother, once she noticed that nearly half the feast had already been devoured. Octavia turned and waved a piece of bacon in the blonde’s face.

 

“We’re a hungry pack. You didn’t really expect us to wait that long to start eating, did you?” The small firecracker of a girl said playfully, chomping into the bacon obnoxiously as Clarke swatted at her hand.

 

“No. No, I guess I didn’t.” She sighed as she pulled out a seat for Lexa. Once the brunette sat down and scooted in, Clarke took her space next to her. She handed Lexa a plate and began offering her different arrays of the foods adorning the table.

Once Lexa’s plate was stacked like a mountain with foods ranging from waffles to cantaloupe to biscuits, she nervously glanced around before picking up a fork and a knife. She began to absolutely devour the food in front of her. Abandoning the utensils soon after and using her hands to shove fistfuls of whatever she could hold directly into her mouth. She had underestimated how hungry she had been.

 

The four other people in the room watched on in awe, disgust, horror, and humor. Lexa wasn’t aware of all the eyes on her until her plate was cleaned off and she began reaching for more waffles with both hands.She stopped short, a fistful of waffles in her grasp. The was an awkward silence as she looked at each person, her mouth still stuffed.

 

The silence snapped when a bit of egg that had been dangling from between her lips suddenly dropped onto the table with a soft plop and Octavia burst out in raucous laughter. The laughter soon spread to Bellamy, and then, hesitantly, Raven. The only one who didn’t laugh was Clarke, who looked at her with gentle eyes. The blonde reached over with a napkin and wiped at Lexa’s mouth and cheeks.

 

Lexa unfroze at the contact, releasing the waffles and moving to lean closer into Clarke’s hand. She scowled in anger with herself for breaking like that. These strangers thought she was a filthy, bloody pig. She sat back after Clarke finished and stared angrily into her lap.

 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. They don’t mean anything by it. They don’t understand.” Clarke said softly, placing her hand on the brunettes knee in a way she hoped to be comforting.

 

“It’s okay, I looked like a fool.” She rasped, only loud enough for Clarke to hear. Clarke frowned and wrapped her hand around Lexa’s thumb.

 

“You’ve been through a lot.” She stated simply, scowling. She released Lexa’s hand after a few moments and picked up her own plate. “Would you like to come sit with me while i wash dishes?”

 

Lexa nodded and stood with the blonde. The other three helped them carry the dishes into the kitchen and Octavia and Raven started putting the leftovers in containers and placing them in the fridge as Bellamy ran out calling dibs on the television.

 

Once the two other girls left the room, Lexa and Clarke were left alone. They had silently fallen into a routine of clarke soaping up and scrubbing each dish before handing them to Lexa, then the brunette would rinse and dry them. Lexa was perched on the counter, her legs swinging gently and she focused on assisting Clarke with the cleaning.

 

“Thank you.” Clarke nearly whispered after a while. The blonde wouldn’t look back at Lexa’s confused face.

 

“I should be the one thanking you,” Lexa said in complete disbelief, “what have I done for you?”

 

Clarke simply shrugged, still averting her gaze. They continued their previous routine but Clarke wouldn’t meet Lexa’s eyes anymore. Every few seconds Lexa gave Clarke a curious glance but was disappointed each time it went unchallenged.

 

* * *

  


“You’re letting me have this?” Lexa asked, leaning back against Clarke’s bed. The blonde had to fight every urge in her body as to not look down at the tan, muscular exposed skin right above Lexa’s hips. The sweatpants she was wearing fell a bit too loosely and the shirt was just a bit too short, so when she moved certain ways, the cotton shirt rode up.

 

Clarke would never admit how undeniably attracted she already was to this near stranger. She looked anywhere but at the other girl. And Lexa would be lying if she said she didn’t notice Clarke’s obvious behavior.

 

“Uhm yeah, for now, I mean.” Clarke said as she dropped the large comforter into Lexa’s arms, “I was going to ask you if you’d rather stay up here and rest or go downstairs with the others to watch movies.”

 

Lexa immediately frowned, the events of breakfast replaying in her mind. Clarke immediately sensed her discomfort and frowned along with her.

 

“Or, we could go to the viewing room in the basement and you could help me set up the big screen for us. Just us.” Clarke offered, not wanting Lexa to be uncomfortable.

 

“Uh, yeah that may be better.” The brunette responded, stepping forward and motioning for Clarke to lead the way. Clarke took the offer and stepped around Lexa. She went to the door and opened it, turning to make sure Lexa was following. The pair made their way down the hall and down the steps. Lexa made it to the bottom step with some assistance from the railing and Clarke, limping on her left leg.

 

Clarke guided Lexa all the way into the basement and she showed her where to sit and curl up in the comforter. The brunette did as she was instructed and layed on a recliner of the large in home theater.

 

“Give me  minute or two and I’ll have everything set up.” Clarke said leaving the girl alone on the chair as she disappeared from view. It took only a few moments for Lexa to dose off, her head falling against her own shoulder. She found the comfort of the blankets too inviting and the warmth temporarily put her at ease.

 

What felt like only a second later Lexa woke up to the feeling of gentle hands slowly attempting to rouse her. She blinked open tired eyes to see Clarke leaning over her, the ceiling light outlining her entire body like a heavenly border. The smile on her face reminded Lexa of something ethereal as well. She tiredly pressed her cheek against the hand that had been placed there.

 

“Hey, sleepy head.” Clarke greeted, stepping back to let the the overhead light pour down onto Lexa. the brunette immediately groaned and covered her eyes, rubbing slowly against the lids.

 

“How long was I out?” Lexa asked through a jaw cracking yawn. Clarke giggled at the sight and Lexa froze for a millisecond. She decided in that moment that that was secretly her favorite sound.

 

“Only about an hour. I thought I’d wake you because you seemed like you were still hungry earlier, so I made you some muffins.” Clarke said, talking more quietly than before. Lexa could tell she was slightly shy now as she gestured a plate of perfect looking muffins.

 

“Oh wow. Yeah thank you. You really don’t have to be doing all of this for me.” Lexa said quietly, matching Clarke’s volume. Both girl’s cheeks grew to be light pink.

 

“No, it’s okay. I thought we could eat them together and watch a movie, if you’d like.” Clarke offered, averting her eyes as she picked the plate up again of the small table next to Lexa’s chair.

 

“Really?” Lexa asked in confusion. She’s surprised that Clarke would want to be around her any more than she has to in order to help Lexa. She figured the blonde was doing all that she’d done purely out of pity.

 

“Uh, yeah. Unless you don’t want to.” Clarke hesitated, stopping directly in front of the recliner Lexa was occupying. She glanced around nervously, not quite meeting Lexa’s eyes.

 

“No, i’d like that a lot.” Lexa said, hoping she sounded at least somewhat comforting. Clarke finally met her eyes and smiled softly before taking a seat next to Lexa.

 

“Okay well for movie choices, we can look on my Netflix.” Clarke said as she pulled the remote from her pocket. She opened Netflix after turning the large screen on.

 

Lexa looked around in shock, taking in the large room for the first time. There were three rows of four recliners, each row raised slightly higher than the other by partitioned steps. In the back corner of the room was a large bar, fully stocked. In the opposite corner the wall opened up into a small kitchen, no doubt fully stocked as well.

 

The screen was directly ahead of the seating area and cover a large space, nearly the size of a screen in a movie theater. It took Lexa only a few moments to realize the illusion of the screen was coming from a projector that hung from the ceiling above the third row.

 

Just to the left of the screen was a dark hallway, the lights in the room were all turned off. The only source of light was coming from the screen. As if sensing Lexa’s curiosity, Clarke laughed quietly and placed a hand on Lexa’s knee.

 

“There’s two guest bedrooms and a master bathroom, sort of like mine, back there. My room used to be down here before we decided to make a home theater.” Clarke explained as she went back to flipping through Netflix.

 

“Your parents must be absolutely stacked.” Lexa commented quietly. She had grown up with very little money, which was part of the reason she got into fighting, so the concept of having enough money to do whatever you wanted was very foreign to her.

 

“My mother is a neurosurgeon and my dad was a politician.” Clarke offered as way of explanation. Lexa looked towards her and tilted her head.

 

“ _Was_ a politician? What does he do now?” Lexa asked, questioning her choice of words. Clarke only then realized what she had said and shook her head slowly.

 

“I’m not sure,” She frowned, staring down at the plate in her lap. “A few years ago I just woke up and he was gone. I haven’t seen or heard from him since. My mother told me he had left in the middle of the night.” She told Lexa, tears slowly welling up in her eyes.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. How old were you?” Lexa asks slowly, not wanting to push it, but Clarke hadn’t stopped her yet.

 

“It was like four… almost five years ago,” She said after a moment of thought. Clarke chuckled bitterly to herself after a few silent moments. “It was my thirteenth birthday.”

 

Lexa couldn’t explain it, but after Clarke’s revelation, she felt a spark of anger set itself in her chest.

 

“What the fuck.” She growled under her breath, but when she looked over at the blonde, her anger immediately faded.  Clarke was wiping the tears off of her face but they were quickly replaced. Lexa took it upon herself to help her and reached over.

Lexa cupped the girls cheek and swiped her thumbs under her eyes. She frowned at the sight, wanting nothing more than to take all her pain away. This girl who was so loving and so gentle and so kind. She had taken Lexa in, a complete stranger, a dangerous looking person, and helped her without question or reservation. Clarke didn’t deserve the pain she felt, she deserved only the same level, if not more, happiness as she put out into the world.

 

“My father was killed when I was seven.” She said after a moment of consideration. She paused for a moment, gauging Clarke’s reaction. She looked back at Lexa expectantly, waiting for her to continue, to explain. “It was a drive by shooting.”

 

“He was walking me home from school.” Clarke gasped quietly, realising Lexa had witnessed her own father’s death. Lexa sighed and sat back once again. “We had stopped at the corner store two blocks from my house and we had just left the store when a shiny red car rolled up and a man with a snake tattoo on his bald head pulled out a revolver and shot my dad in the head and the chest.”

 

Clarke reached over, gripping Lexa’s hand to show her support and that she didn’t have to continue if she didn’t want to.

 

“I remember it so well. He fell right away. The doctors told us that he died almost immediately. He almost landed on top of me but i managed to move out of the way. I hadn’t realised what had happened until he pulled me down with him. His grip didn’t loosen even when he died.” Lexa tilted her head back and chuckled lightly. “I cried about the loud gunshots and my spilt pepsi before I even realised he was dead.”

 

“I managed to get up and i saw the huge hole in the side of his head. His eyes were so dull and he wasn’t answering me so i started to panic. The cashier in the store saw the whole thing, called the police. They came and took me home in the back of the squad car. I never saw my dad again after that. The funeral was closed casket.”

 

Clarke was now crying even more out of empathy for the girl next to her. Lexa hadn’t even teared up. She compartmentalized.

 

“I’m so sorry. I feel so stupid now for crying about my father leaving me.” Clarke said, rubbing her forehead.

 

“God no, that doesn’t make you stupid. I didn’t say tell you that to make you feel like your pain isn’t important. I just… I understand losing a father, just in a different way.” Clarke nodded smiling gently.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, does that have anything to do with why you were basically bleeding out in my pool house?” Clarke questioned, suddenly remembering the muffins and offering one to Lexa, who took one gratefully.

“Yeah, kind of,” Lexa said with a light laugh. “I don’t want to freak you out but i am a guest in your home so i guess it’s best i tell you why i was here in the first place.”

 

“I’m all ears, whatever you have to say.” Clarke smiled gently.

 

“Well, I’m a street fighter,” She paused for a reaction but Clarke only nodded for her to keep going. “I used to get in a lot of fights in grade school, realised i was good at it, started taking money from kids who couldn’t fight to beat up anyone they wanted. When i was in seventh grade i became a runner for the gang run out of my neighborhood. That led to a lot of bullets and fists flying at me by the other gang in the area, the one that killed my dad.”

 

Clarke quickly began to catch on and frowned. She had a feeling this story was not going to have a very good ending.

 

“I did that simply to make money for my family, no other reason. My mom won’t leave the house anymore and my sister is a lot smarter than me, so she got a real job. She left for college two years ago. I realised street fighting was a thing and you can make bank even if you lose so started slow with it. Now it’s been about three years and i have at least six location owners that call me regularly with fights for me. I can take down men up to five times my size. I’ve been training for years. I have a black belt in three martial arts. I’m trained to use several types of weapons.”

 

Clarke nodded slowly, staring at Lexa, waiting for something. She was waiting for her to laugh like it was a joke or cry because of the trauma but Lexa just stared at her blankly waiting for a reply.

 

“So all of that to make money for your family?” She asked and Lexa nodded. “Well, you don’t need to fight anymore, I have enough money. I’ll make my mom give you money.”

 

“No, no. I don’t take charity. I work for the money i make.”

 

“Then you can… you can do groundskeeping or something.”

 

“Maybe, someday… but not yet.”

 

“Why not yet?”

 

“Because I have a plan.”

 

“A plan? For what?”

 

“A plan to avenge my father’s murder.”

 

Clarke’s eyes widened in surprise and confusion. She placed her hand over Lexa’s once again causing the brunette to look at her.

 

“How are you going to do that?” Lexa paused, weighing whether or not she could trust Clarke, but she figured the worst that would happen is she would think is was a joke.

 

“I am going to kill the men who murdered my father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading. im sorry it took so long, life has been crazy, but im trying to keep up. sorry for any grammatical errors, i did my best to fix them but i missed a lot most likely. if there's any errors so bad its unreadable let me know and ill do my best to fix it.

**Author's Note:**

> Word count: 5,093
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I appreciate it more than you know. Leave me some feedback, let me know what you think, tell me how you feel about this AU. 
> 
> Have an amazing day. <3<3<3<3


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